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Lecture 11: Special and General Relativity (cont.)

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Lecture Details

FrontiersControversies in Astrophysics (ASTR 160)
The lecture begins with a comprehensive overview of the historical conditions under which Einstein developed his theories. Of particular impact were the urgent need at the turn of the 19th century to synchronize clocks around the world; Einsteins position at a patent office; and a series of experiments that he himself carried out. In 1905 Einstein published three papers that are still considered the greatest papers in the field of physics. The lecture then moves to General Relativity and how it encompasses Newtons laws of gravity. A visual demonstration shows how space-time undergoes curvature when mass is introduced. Class ends with a question-and-answer period on a variety of topics in Special Relativity.
0000 - Chapter 1. Lessons from Einsteins Discovery of Relativity
1327 - Chapter 2. General Relativity as a Theory on Gravity
2130 - Chapter 3. Space-Time Curvature
2545 - Chapter 4. Q&A on Special Relativity
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website httpopen.yale.educourses
This course was recorded in Spring 2007.